


How Pearl Met Ruby

by McChef



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Origin Story, Political Unrest, Power Imbalance, Pre-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 09:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18775189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McChef/pseuds/McChef
Summary: You must be Rhodonite -- a Ruby and a Pearl? That must have been a story. I want all the details.





	How Pearl Met Ruby

Ruby and the rest of her squad of Rubies sat around the table in their barracks. The Ruby to her left and right were playing a strategy game on the tabletop together, and the Ruby across from her was reading notes on a display tablet. Ruby was just slouched over on the table and resting her chin in her arms, watching the board game in front of her.

They had all been quiet for a very long time, but now the Ruby to Ruby’s left sighed. “We haven’t been sent out in a long time,” she said, echoing everyone’s thoughts.

The Ruby to Ruby’s right, holding her game piece as she decided where to move, said, “I knew we messed up our last mission.” She hesitantly made her move, not looking very confident as she set down the token.

“That just doesn’t make sense,” the Ruby across from Ruby said. “The metrics here all indicate that we completed our task with a more than acceptable amount of time and resources.” She set the tablet, which she had been poring through almost constantly since they returned the week before, onto the table.

“Maybe we did  _ too _ good?” Ruby asked. “Maybe there’s just nothing left for us to do.”

The Ruby across from Ruby leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “That can’t be it, either. We only had one flaw, but it was a big one.”

The Ruby to Ruby’s left sighed again. “We kept running out of smoke bombs.”

“And backup weapons,” the Ruby to Ruby’s right added. “But what else could we have done? We couldn’t have carried any more supplies with us without losing mobility.”

“Maybe next time, one of us should make resupply trips back and forth from the ship,” Ruby suggested.

“But which of us would do that?” The Ruby across from Ruby asked. “Who could we spare from the battlefield?”

They all looked at each other, and knew that that idea wasn’t going to work. Each Ruby was too valuable in battle to be wasted on delivery trips. They all sighed in unison.

A knock at the doorway made the four Rubies immediately stand up and hit a brace. “If you Rubies get any bluer, I’ll have to send the lot of you down to train with the Sapphires.” Morganite was leaning on the doorframe, a smirk on her face. She was tall with broad shoulders and thin hips, dressed in pale pink soldier’s garb to match her pale pink skin and hair. The hand on her hip showed off the Gem on the back of her right hand.

“Commander Morganite!” The Ruby across from Ruby said in greeting.

“You’re not wrong about the smoke bombs,” Morganite told them. “That did bring down your performance last time.” She waved her hand dismissively in response to the Rubies’ cringing. “But you  _ will _ be sent out again. Your performance was still excellent, and has been consistently excellent under my leadership.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to follow you!” The Ruby to Ruby’s right said.

“Save the Gem-sucking,” Morganite said, but winked at her in response. “I just came down to the soldiers’ quarters to let you all know that because of the remarkable work the Rubies I trained have accomplished in quashing the organic infestations on our colonies, the Diamond Authority has decided to honor me with a gift.” She stood upright and stepped back from the doorway, and gestured to someone on her right. “Come.”

Into the room walked a Pearl. She had gray skin and black hair tied in a short ponytail in the back. She wore a black dress, long-sleeved and down to her knees, with an opening at her chest to reveal her dark gray Gem. She also wore black flat shoes. The Pearl stepped to the side and waited politely as Morganite strode back into the room.

“You got your own Pearl?!” The Ruby to Ruby’s left exclaimed.

“Don’t get too excited, it seems there was an extra one lying around and she needed to be assigned for propriety’s sake. I just happened to meet the minimum qualifications.” Morganite crossed her arms in front of her chest and gazed down at the Rubies. “But the truth is that I have no need or want for a Pearl to follow me around on my business. So she’s going to hang out here, and take care of all of you whenever you’re back on Homeworld. Stars know you need someone to take care of you.”

The Pearl clasped her hands in front of her hips. “I look forward to serving you all,” she said with a small smile.

The Rubies couldn’t contain their excitement. The pieces of the board game were jostled as the Ruby to Ruby’s left gripped the table and shook it. The Ruby across from Ruby jumped on her chair and pumped her fist in the air. The Ruby to Ruby’s right tapped her feet up and down and held her face to her hands. Ruby just dropped her jaw and widened her eyes.

Morganite’s smirk was ever-present, but she held up a hand until the Rubies quieted down. She then turned to the Pearl and said, “Serve them like you would me, within reason. Don’t let them order you to do anything that would make me look bad, and if they  _ do _ make you do anything that ridiculous, you’ll report it to me.” She raised an eyebrow at the Ruby to Ruby’s left at that. Satisfied that she got the message, Morganite clapped her hands together. “All right! I have work to do. Keep yourselves occupied.” She turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

As soon as Morganite was out of the room, the other three Rubies immediately began planning what they were going to do now that they had a Pearl to show off around Homeworld. Ruby listened to them for a few seconds, but then decided that this was her chance to make the Pearl think that she was more in charge than the others. She wasn’t the captain, but the Pearl probably didn’t know that yet.

Ruby straightened out her top, which only went about halfway down her abdomen and left her midriff bare in order to show off the Gem on her belly. She started her most authoritative march over to the Pearl and stopped in front of her. The other Rubies stopped talking and watched as she looked up at the Pearl and said, “I am Ruby, cut-2NG. You may call me Ruby.”

The Pearl looked down at her and smiled, just a little bigger than it was a second before. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance, my Ruby. You may refer to me as anything you wish, but it’s also OK to call me Pearl.”

Something about the smile broke Ruby’s concentration, and she forgot what she was going to say next. When she hesitated too long, the other Rubies burst into laughter. “Ruby doesn’t know how to order a Pearl around!” The Ruby who sat across from Ruby announced.

Ruby felt herself heating up and glared at the Ruby who sat across from her. “Shut up!” She looked up at Pearl again and said, “Just get us some ice!”

Pearl gave a bow of her head. “Of course, my Ruby.” She left the room.

Ruby took a breath, then turned around and put on her best swagger back to the table. “We got our own Pearl, guys.” She pulled out her chair and sat back down.

“What a waste of a first order, though,” the Ruby to Ruby’s right said. “We can get our own ice.”

The Ruby across from Ruby rolled her eyes. “Pearls aren’t supposed to do stuff we  _ can’t _ do, they just make us look more important while we’re doing them.”

The Ruby to Ruby’s left started resetting the game board. “Shouldn’t we be going with her, then? So people can see us with her?”

Ruby shrugged. “There’s nobody but us and Morganite in the barracks right now, anyway. Well, and Pearl. Nobody to impress right now.”

Pearl reentered the room with a bin in her arms, containing large blocks of ice and a pair of pincers from the barrack’s larder. She set the bin on a stool near the door. The Rubies watched as Pearl summoned a small, square serving platter from her Gem. It was gray and slightly transparent and it hovered an inch above her hand, which she held in front of her. She took the pincers and stacked four blocks of ice onto the platter, then turned to the Rubies. “My apologies for the wait, my Ruby. I have the ice for you all now.”

She walked over to the table and with the pincers placed a block of ice on top of each Ruby’s head, starting with the Ruby to Ruby’s right and working her way counterclockwise.

“That’s a neat trick with the plate,” Ruby said.

“We all have our talents,” Pearl said, placing the block of ice on Ruby’s head. Ruby sighed in contentment as she felt the heat of her body quickly melt the ice, causing it to melt over her shoulders and vaporize into the air. “I’m pleased that mine was able to be useful to you so soon after meeting.” She placed the pincers back in the ice bin and closed the lid, then returned to stand near the foot of the table by the Ruby to Ruby’s right.

“I wish I had a few practical Gem abilities like that, instead of just my weapon,” the Ruby across from Ruby said. She tossed her writing tablet onto the table. “I’m sick of carrying this thing around with me everywhere I go. I can’t wait until they come out with those dismissable tablets they keep saying are only a thousand years off.”

“If you don’t mind my saying so, it’s still a very lovely piece of technology,” Pearl told her.

The Ruby across from Ruby picked the tablet back up looked at the actual device instead of just the screen. “Yeah, it’s a Tiger’s Eye model.” She flipped it around and looked at the back and the Gem in the center of it. “They make decent report processors, but Gem-powered tech is starting to get outdated.”

“I see,” Pearl said.

The Ruby to Ruby’s left was standing next to her chair and looking over the board game. “If you ask me, AI is never going to be as good as old-fashioned Gem-power.” She moved a few pieces on the board. “They can make it as intelligent as they want, but it’s still  _ artificial _ intelligence. You just can’t beat Gem-power for a natural, intuitive user experience.”

“Yeah, well, no one did ask you,” the Ruby across from Ruby said. The Ruby to Ruby’s left sneered but didn’t say anything in response.

The Rubies went back to their standing orders of sitting around, and Pearl was mostly forgotten. Ruby snuck a glance at her a few times, but she didn’t seem to mind the lack of attention.

 

The next day, Morganite returned to their quarters. The Rubies stood at attention again and Pearl stood at the side of the room. “Rubies!” Morganite announced. “The day after tomorrow you will be heading out for a three-day security mission in one of Blue Diamond’s colonies.” She took the tablet from the Ruby across from Ruby and started entering the information they would need.

“Blue Diamond?” The Ruby to Ruby’s left asked. She pointed her thumb at the insignia on her chest. “We’re White Diamond’s Rubies.”

“Yes, well, White Diamond doesn’t have any work for you to do. For anyone, really. Maybe she’s finally achieved that perfection she’s always wanted.” Morganite looked up from the tablet. “Don’t go spreading that around.” The Rubies nodded. They were used to covering for Morganite’s gossip. “Anyway, you can expect to be doing more work for Blue and Yellow Diamond from now on.” She gave the tablet back to the Ruby across from Ruby.

“We’ll be ready, Commander Morganite,” the Ruby across from Ruby said.

“And we’ll carry enough smoke bombs with us this time!” The Ruby to Ruby’s right said.

“Oh, about that,” Morganite said. “Bring Pearl along. She can run supplies.” She turned and left the room.

The Rubies started going over the notes that Morganite had given them, but when the conversation turned to less practical matters, Ruby pushed herself away from the table. “I’ll be right back,” she said. The other Rubies didn’t seem to care.

Ruby left their quarters and walked down the hall to Morganite’s office. She knocked on the door, and after a second the door swung open. Morganite looked down at her. “What is it? Did I forget to transfer some information?”

Ruby shook her head. “Um, I have a small concern that I wanted to talk to you about.”

Morganite raised an eyebrow. “Well, come on in, then.” She walked back into her office and sat at her desk, which was covered in tablets and screens covering details about the missions the squads of Rubies under her command were engaged in. She crossed her legs and turned her chair to look at Ruby. “What’s your concern.”

Ruby fumbled her hands together. “About Pearl running supplies?”

“I think she should be able to do it. I saw her carry that ice bin around, she can carry a few bags of supplies.”

“Well…” Ruby fought the instinct to look at the ground. “Do you think  _ she’ll _ be OK? What if something attacks her while she’s en route and we’re not around to protect her?”

Morganite looked at her for a few seconds. “If Pearls can take care of others, they can take care of themselves. Besides, this mission isn’t going to be dangerous, the organics there are particularly dumb.”

Ruby smirked. “All organics are dumb.”

Ruby expected Morganite to laugh, but she didn’t. “I know you’re a Ruby, but you’re smarter than that. You’ve been on enough missions to know that some organics are highly territorial and will attack us. These ones aren’t like that, they’re just shambling beasts. Your presence there is a formality to make the kindergarteners and the quarry workers feel better. You probably won’t even need to send Pearl for resupplies.”

“But if something  _ did _ happen…”

Morganite sighed and uncrossed her legs. “Tell you what. If it makes you feel better, take Pearl to the training grounds and give her a few lessons in self-defense.”

Ruby perked up. She gave a salute and a “Yes, my Morganite!” and backed out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Ruby jogged back to their quarters. She peeked in and saw that Pearl was standing near the door, waiting orders. “Pearl,” she said quietly, “come with me.”

The Ruby who sat across from Ruby heard her, and asked “Where are you taking her?”

Ruby hesitated. “I’m going to get her ready for running supplies.”

The Ruby who sat across from Ruby set her tablet down. “Shouldn’t it be me who does that? I’m the captain.”

“Do you  _ want _ to handle it?” Ruby asked.

The Ruby who sat across from Ruby narrowed her eyes. She picked her tablet back up. “No. Bring back some ice when you’re done.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, Pearl.” Ruby started heading down the hallway.

“Right away, my Ruby.” Pearl nodded to the Rubies in their quarters and then followed Ruby down the hall.

At the end of the hall, Ruby opened a large metal door, casting sunlight into the dimly lit barracks. She stepped into the courtyard that served as a training area for newly emerged Rubies.

The courtyard was approximately 5,000 square feet, with the door opening up near one end. The walls and floors were made of stone tile, and a stone bench lined the wall near the door.

Ruby walked a ways into the courtyard, then turned to face Pearl who was still standing near the open doorway. Ruby cleared her throat before speaking. “So you know you’ll be joining us on a mission to an organic-infested colony.”

Pearl kept her perpetual smile. “Yes, of course. It is my pleasure to assist you in all of your tasks, my Ruby.”

Ruby furrowed her brow. “Yeah, well, if you want to be useful to us, you have to be able to avoid getting poofed.”

Pearl nodded. “Of course.”

Ruby gestured to her. “Come here.” When Pearl came closer, Ruby said, “Us Rubies have things we can attack with, but you don’t, so you have to be more careful.”

“If you don’t mind my curiosity, my Ruby, what ability do each of you have?”

“Oh.” Ruby started counting on her fingers as she listed them, “Ruby has a club, Ruby has a net, and Ruby has throwing knives.”

“And what weapon do you have?”

Ruby wasn’t sure whether to feel embarrassed. “Um...I don’t have an actual  _ weapon _ exactly. But you know how us Rubies sometimes get really hot?”

Pearl’s smile got a little bigger, and Ruby once again felt a little like she was caught off-guard. “Yes, the steam you all create from those blocks of ice is quite impressive.”

“Right. Well, I can direct that heat.” Ruby exhaled and let the heat in her body flow to one of her hands, then she tossed it like she would a ball, about a foot to Pearl’s right so that she would be able to feel it fly past her.

Pearl jumped as it did, and let out a short yelp. She laughed, but quickly stopped herself, covering her mouth with one hand. “Forgive me, my Ruby. It startled me.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you!” Ruby said, then composed herself. “I mean, it’s hard to tell when there’s nothing to hit, but I promise I’m a good shot. You were never in any danger.”

Pear looked at her for a second, then her eyes lit up. “I have an idea!” she said, in a loud whisper. She walked quickly past Ruby toward the opposite wall. When she was a good distance away, she summoned her serving plate. Ruby watched as she grabbed the plate with two hands and held it above her head, with the face of the plate facing Ruby. When she removed her hands, the plate stayed hovering in the air. Pearl walked a few paces to her right and summoned another plate and placed that above her head, then walked a few more paces to the right and placed another one. When she was done with that, she stood off to the side and held her hands to the side, presenting the hovering plates. “A target range, if demonstrating your accuracy is something you care to do, my Ruby.”

Ruby shook her head in disbelief, but felt herself smiling anyway. She pulled her hand behind her hips. “I don’t know if those things shatter, Pearl, but if they do you might want to step back.”

Pearl stopped smiling and looked at the plates. After a second, she took a few steps back.

Ruby thrust her hand forward, drew it back, thrust it forward, drew it back, and thrust it forward. Within two seconds, all three plates toppled out of the air, and vanished when they hit the ground.

Pearl clasped her hands together stomped her feet a couple times. “That was amazing!” she said. When she saw Ruby looking at her, she settled down and smoothed out her dress. She bowed her head toward Ruby. “That was an impressive display of your abilities, my Ruby.”

Ruby’s smile faded as Pearl calmed down. She sighed and squared her shoulders. “All right. Let’s get to work. We’re going to work on your dodging. I can send actual flames when I throw heat, so you can see it coming. OK, stand here.Now widen your stance…”

They got to work practicing dodges, both from Ruby’s heat throwing as well as some close combat. Pearl was clumsy at first, although she managed to not take any direct hits. After many hours, as the sky grew dark, Ruby wasn’t even really trying to miss as Pearl successfully dodged her attacks.

Pearl was smiling and laughing again, although she was obviously trying to hide it, by the time Ruby called the end of practice. They walked together out of the training grounds and Ruby headed toward their quarters.

“Shall we get another bin of ice for the other Rubies?” Pearl gently reminded her.

Ruby snapped her fingers. “Oh, right!” She turned the other way and they headed for the larder.

Walking next to Ruby, Pearl said, “I apologize for my behavior during training today, my Ruby. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time, and I lost my composure.”

Ruby looked up at her. “You don’t have to say sorry. You did really good today, even if you were laughing.” They had arrived at the larder, and Ruby pulled open the heavy metal doos and they walked into the sunken room where the ice was stored. “What did you mean by ‘fun,’ though?”

“I’m not sure if I’m using the right word,” Pearl said as she started placing blocks of ice into an insulated bin. “When you do things just because you enjoy them.”

“I haven’t heard of it,” Ruby said.

“Really? What about that board game Ruby and Ruby are always playing?” Pearl closed and picked up the filled bin and they left the larder, closing the door behind them.

“That’s to practice tactics. They’re getting really good at that in the field.”

“I see. Going so long without being assigned to a master must have given me time to come up with some unusual concepts. I apologize for confusing you.”

“No, that’s fine, too. Whatever ‘fun’ is, I’m glad you had it with me. It sounds nice. You can show me how to have it, too, one of these days,” Ruby said to Pearl with a smile, which Pearl returned.

They returned to the Rubies’ quarters, and the other Rubies were so excited to see the ice that nobody asked what had taken them so long.

 

On mission launch day, the four Rubies and their Pearl filed into their ship, docked in a small landing bay behind the barracks. The main body of the ship was wider than it was tall, with larger thrusters on the bottom and a cone-shaped point on top.

Ruby took her seat at the systems monitoring station. If she were to turn her chair to face the center, the other Rubies would be seated around the circumference of the ship in the same orientation as their usual spots around their table in the barracks, with Ruby sitting to Ruby’s left, Ruby sitting to Ruby’s right, and Ruby sitting across from Ruby.

Pearl entered the ship last, crouching to get through the doorway and looking nervously at the ceiling which was only a few inches above her head when she stood up straight.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Ruby said. “This ship wasn’t really designed for anyone taller than us Rubies.”

Pearl stood near Ruby’s station. “It’s all right. I felt a bit claustrophobic for a moment but it’s passed, my Ruby.”

The Ruby to Ruby’s right said from her seat at the pilot’s controls, “I heard that they’re working on a ship that’s bigger on the inside.”

“That’s centuries away!” The Ruby across from Ruby retorted. “Let’s stop jabbering and get moving. Are all our supplies packed in storage?”

“That they are!” The Ruby to Ruby’s left answered.

“And all systems are online?”

Ruby double-checked her screen. “Yes!”

“Then let’s take off!”

The Ruby to Ruby’s right smashed a button at her station. A slot in the center of the floor opened and the Gem that powered their ship rose into the air and hovered about halfway between the floor and ceiling. The ship started to shake as the Gem started to thrum a bright white light.

“You should hold onto something,” Ruby said to Pearl. Pearl grabbed the back of Ruby’s chair.

The thrusters below the ship kicked on and after a few seconds of warming up, the ship lifted off. Ruby felt her teeth rattle together as the ship pushed through Homeworld’s atmosphere.

When they finally broke free from the planet’s gravity and started their smoother course to their destination, Ruby felt one of Pearl’s hands briefly touch her shoulder, before she returned to her position next to her station.

 

Six days later, they returned to Homeworld, the Rubies clapping each other on the back in congratulations of a successful mission.

As the Rubies filed into their quarters and to their usual seats around the table, and Pearl took her position near the doorway, Morganite approached and leaned on the door frame, causing the Rubies to stand back up again. “It sounds like everything went well,” she said.

“It went really well!” The Ruby to Ruby’s right said.

The Ruby across from Ruby cleared her throat before giving her report, “Both kindergartens on the colony were successfully secured. There were several incidents where the organic creatures in the surrounding areas tried to approach, but a few smoke bombs and a couple jabs with our weapons managed to scare them away long enough for the kindergarteners to construct barriers. The kindergartens are now officially under development and Blue Diamond should have a thriving colony in only three hundred years!”

“Wonderful,” Morganite said.

“We only needed to be resupplied twice,” Ruby added, “and Pearl did a successful job both times.”

“Yeah, but you hogged her the whole time,” the Ruby to Ruby’s left said.

“Well, she needed to,” the Ruby across from Ruby said. “She’s the only one who doesn’t have a normal weapon.” Ruby felt herself heat up a little as the other Rubies chuckled.

Pearl stepped forward and said, “If my presence is being missed, I believe I may have a solution.”

Her Gem glowed for a second, and three new Pearls appeared in the room. They were bluish and partially transparent, like her plate. They all held plates of their own above their hands, and they had completely vacant expressions. “Would you like a block of ice?!” They all asked in unison, in unnervingly monotonous voices.

“That’s a neat trick,” Morganite said.

Pearl touched two fingers to her lips in thought. “I’m afraid they aren’t very smart,” she said. She smiled at the Rubies. “If there are any particular tasks you would like for them to do, I can program them to do it.”

The Ruby to Ruby’s right looked at them uneasily. “Actually, I think we don’t need them at all right now.”

Ruby swore she saw Pearl’s cheeks flush a lighter gray than her usual complexion for a fraction of a second, but she quickly composed herself and said, “Yes, of course.” She waved her hand and the projections disappeared.

“Well, anyway,” Morganite said, “While you were gone, I got a shipment of newly emerged Rubies needing some basic training before being assigned to their own commanders. One of you needs to handle that.”

All of the Rubies said “Not it!” as quickly as they could, but Ruby was just a little slower.

Ruby winced, but she hit a brace and said, “It would be my honor to train the new Rubies,” she said in a voice she knew wasn’t fooling anyone.

Morganite smirked. “I’m always happy to give my Rubies tasks that bring them honor. I’ll keep you in mind next time the larder needs to be cleaned. They’re in the training grounds, have at ‘em.” Ruby sighed and walked towards the door, but Morganite held out a hand to stop her. “Actually, take Pearl with you. That thing with the hovering plates will make for good ranged practice.”

“I wasn’t aware you had seen that, my Morganite,” Pearl said.

“I see everything that happens in my barracks.” She looked at the Ruby who sat across from Ruby. “Oh, and I’ll want a report of your mission by tomorrow.”

“Right away, Commander Morganite!” the Ruby who sat across from Ruby said. Morganite nodded and walked back to her office.

Pearl turned to the the three Rubies still standing around the table. “Would you like me to summon my assistants again before I accompany Ruby to the training grounds?”

“No, I don’t think we would like that,” the Ruby who sat to Ruby’s left said.

Pearl gave them a bow and followed Ruby down the hall back to the courtyard.

Ruby stopped outside the door, sighed deeply, and pushed it open. Immediately the noise of the ruckus inside the courtyard flew into the barracks interior. Ruby gritted her teeth and marched into the training grounds, turning to face the pile of six new Rubies with her hands on her hips. They were in the middle of some kind of brawl, yelling at and punching each other, weapons summoned but dismissed quickly because none of them knew how to use them.

New Rubies were the worst Gems in the universe.

“A- _ HEM _ !” Ruby shouted at the pile. When that didn’t catch any of their attention, she bellowed in her loudest voice, “ATTENTION!” The new Rubies stopped what they were doing and looked at her suspiciously, but they got off each other. “Hi. My name is Ruby and I’m going to be giving you your training today.”

“We’re supposed to be getting our training from Morganite!” One of the Rubies said. She had her Gem on her left eye and a scowl on her face.

“ _ Commander _ Morganite is too important to be giving you all your first lesson,” Ruby told them. “If you can learn the most  _ basic _ skills from me, then  _ maybe _ Commander Morganite will grace you with her presence. Now everyone, summon your weapons, but do  _ not _ use them! Let’s see what we’re working with here.” They all did, and Ruby nodded as she looked them over. They all at least had standard Gem weapons, which made this simpler. “OK. Today you’re going to learn how to use your weapons in a safe, controlled area, before being unleashed to wreak havoc on your Diamonds’ colonies.”

“What’s  _ your _ weapon?” The Ruby with the Gem on her eye asked.

Ruby thrust a blast of heat, complete with visible flames, at the wall above the new Rubies’ heads, leaving a scorch mark on the stone. This seemed to impress the other Rubies, but not the one with the Gem on her eye, who just stared Ruby down. Ruby returned her glare as she said, “Pearl, will you set up a few targets around the room?”

The Ruby with the Gem on her eye gave an angry laugh. “Are you kidding me?!” she asked, waving her chisel knife in front of her. “It’s one thing to be bossed around by another Ruby, but I am  _ not _ receiving training from a  _ Pearl _ .” She sat down on the floor with legs crossed in front of her and arms crossed over her chest. After a few seconds of nervously glancing at each other, the other new Rubies did the same.

Ruby felt her body surge with heat. She took a step toward the apparent leader of this group of new Ruby punks, ready to melt her stupid Gem right off her stupid face, but then one of Pearl’s hands were in front of her face, stopping her.

“If it pleases you, my Ruby, this is something I can take care of for you.” Before Ruby could stop her or even comprehend what was going on, Pearl walked up to the arrogant Ruby and stopped about two feet in front of her. “Hi, Ruby,” she said. “Why don’t you want to train today?”

“Oh, I  _ want _ to train,” the Ruby said. “But not with you, and not with a Ruby who doesn’t even have a real weapon.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just do what you’re supposed to do?” Pearl asked.

“No!” The Ruby jumped to her feet again and thrust her chisel knife up against Pearl’s chest. Ruby was about to intervene, but Pearl glanced at her and held up a hand, and the Ruby continued. “My orders weren’t to take training with a Ruby and a Pearl! I’m here to be trained by Morganite!” She returned the chisel knife to her side.

Pearl put her hands on her hips. Her usual smile started to fade. “Do you know who my master is?”

“I’m not stupid,” the Ruby said. “You’re Morganite’s Pearl.”

“And what are your current orders?” Pearl asked.

“I already told you! My orders are to be trained by Morganite!”

“Good,” Pearl said. “You’re aware of your surroundings, at least. But what you’re apparently not aware of is that when a Pearl is under orders from her master, her words carry her master’s rank.”

“What are you talking about?” The Ruby scowled.

“What I’m talking about, Eyeball--”

The Ruby recoiled and looked at Pearl with a combination of disgust and anger. “My name’s not  _ Eyeball _ .”

“It is for today, because today I said it is. Your orders are to receive training from Morganite, my orders are to train a bunch of fresh Rubies. As far as you’re concerned, I  _ am _ Morganite.”

“That’s not how that works,” Eyeball said.

“If you feel that way, go ahead and sit on the bench for the rest of your time here. I’ll just tell my master that you didn’t take her training, and you’ll start your service to Homeworld with insubordination at the top of your record. I’m sure that won’t put a damper on whatever ambitions you burst out of the ground with.” Eyeball just stared at her in fury, so Pearl leaned over, pushing one hand against Eyeball’s shoulder. Pearl stared into her eyes. “So listen. As long as you’re scheduled to train under Morganite,  _ I _ am your trainer, and you will do anything and everything I tell you to do in that pursuit. If I tell you to lick my shoe, you ask which one. If you cooperate with training, I won’t ask you to do that.  _ Are we perfectly clear _ .”

Eyeball was starting to steam, but after a few seconds she nodded.

Pearl stood up. She clasped her hands in front of her hips and smiled softly. “It is my  _ pleasure _ to work with you today,” she said in a voice almost disguising the vitriol she had spoken with just seconds before. “If you’ll follow my Ruby’s instructions today, I’m sure you’ll all become perfectly proficient soldiers.” She went around the room and placed a few targets, then she sat down on the bench with ankles crossed primly in front of her.

Ruby watched her sit, then turned to new Rubies with raised eyebrows. “OK! I guess we should get started!”

This group of new Rubies was the most cooperative group of new Rubies that Ruby had ever had the pleasure of instructing.

Pearl got up a few times throughout the training session to place new targets, and helped Ruby demonstrate some of the dodges and parries they had gone over the week before, but it was clear her heart wasn’t in it. Ruby let her sit on the bench most of the time.

As it started to get too dark to practice, even with the small lights on the courtyard walls, Ruby called it a day and dismissed the new Rubies to whichever temporary quarters they had been assigned to. After they filed out of the courtyard, Ruby walked toward the open door herself when Pearl, still sitting on the bench, leaned forward and grabbed her wrist.

Ruby turned around. “Pearl?”

Pearl was staring at the ground. The hand that wasn’t holding Ruby’s wrist was shaking. “My Ruby, I have made a terrible mistake.”

Ruby walked around to stand in front of Pearl. Pearl let go of her wrist and held both of her hands in both of her hands. Ruby could still feel her hands shaking. “What are you talking about?”

“I should not have spoken that way to that Ruby,” Pearl said, still looking down.

“Isn’t what you said about carrying Morganite’s rank true?”

“Well, yes, Pearls can serve as a proxy for their master’s tasks, but that doesn’t mean we can just  _ condescend _ to other Gems! Or give them insulting nicknames!” Pearl looked up into Ruby’s eyes. “But the way she was speaking to you! I was so angry I could hardly contain myself!”

Ruby chuckled nervously. “Yeah, I was pretty mad at her, too.”

“But Pearls aren’t allowed to be angry! What if she tells Morganite what I said, or her new commander?” She looked at Ruby frantically. “My Ruby, please destroy my physical form!”

Ruby pulled her hands away from Pearl. “Are you crazy?!”

Pearl moved her now free hands to her sides and grasped the edge of the bench. “If you destroy my physical form and I’m reduced to my Gem, you can put me in a bubble and keep me hidden! Everyone will just forget about me. My Ruby, I will be shattered for this!”

“I’m not going to poof you, Pearl!”

Pearl grabbed her temple with one hand and looked to the side. “Of course, I have no place to be making requests of you. I shouldn’t even be displaying such emotion, I need to just accept my fate and leave this universe with a shred of dignity left.” She glanced at Ruby’s hands and then looked into Ruby’s eyes. “And I put my hands on you! I cannot even ask you to forgive me. But it isn’t my fault! They left me alone for so long before they gave me to Morganite. I lost all the refinement that I emerged with. I am so sorry that I have failed so terribly in my service to you!” She put her face in her hands and leaned on her knees.

Ruby was still trying to comprehend what Pearl had been saying when Morganite came and stood in the doorway. “What are you two still doing in here? What’s all the shouting?” She looked at Pearl and then at Ruby. “Did you break my Pearl?”

Pearl jumped up to a standing position and bowed low, almost parallel with the floor. “My Morganite, I have brought shame upon you!”

She didn’t say more so Morganite turned to Ruby with a raised eyebrow. Ruby explained what had happened with Eyeball and and why Pearl was so distressed about it. When she was done, Morganite laughed, for several seconds. “Pearl, come here.”

Pearl righted herself from her bow and walked over to Morganite, standing rigidly straight and clearly steeling herself for a blow. Ruby followed and stood next to Morganite, not sure what she should expect.

Morganite clapped her large hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “Pearl, you are not going to be shattered. I see no reason to enact any disciplinary actions at all.”

“But what if that Ruby reports me to someone else?” Pearl asked.

Morganite returned her hand to her side and looked at Pearl for a few seconds. “I’m going to give you some advice that’s going to make your service in these barracks much easier. Are you ready?”

“Of course, my Morganite!”

“Don’t worry so much about being respectful to Rubies.” When Pearl just looked at her confused, Morganite continued, “No one at my rank or below is going to be able to do anything to you over what happened today, because you’re under my protection. And if that Ruby reports this to anyone above me in rank, they’ll discipline  _ her _ for wasting their time. I have no problems with what you did today, in fact I’m glad it happened. That Ruby needed a reality check. Heck, go ahead and talk down to  _ my _ Rubies if you think they deserve it.” Ruby felt her hair compress a little as Morganite patted her on the head.

Pearl glanced at Ruby and then back to Morganite. “Oh, never, the Rubies in these barracks have been nothing but kind and polite to me.”

Morganite put her hands on her hips. “That’s what you get with a little tough love early on in their training. Trust me, whatever that Ruby you scolded did today, this one was worse when I first got her.” Ruby looked up at Pearl and shrugged, and she saw her smile start to return. “Look, I’ll take over the new Rubies’ training tomorrow. You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like to practice your smack talk.”

Pearl’s smile vanished again, and she took on a serious expression as she addressed Morganite. “I’ll do anything you command of me, my Morganite, but if you’re asking me what I’d  _ like _ to do…”

Morganite shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You two head back to your quarters, stay out of everyone’s way.”

As they walked side by side together down the hallway, Ruby said quietly to Pearl, “I’m not angry that you grabbed my hands.”

Pearl didn’t respond, she just kept her smile as they walked back to their quarters.

 

Some time passed. Ruby’s squad and Pearl went on a few more missions. More patrol jobs and security theater to make the nervous colony workers feel better. Pearl met the other three squads of Rubies under Morganite’s command when their time between missions matched up, but she continued to spend most of her time with Ruby’s own squad.

Less than a day after Ruby’s squad returned from their most recent mission, Morganite marched into their quarters, grabbed the tablet from the Ruby across from Ruby’s hands, and started hastily entering information. “New, urgent mission from Yellow Diamond. The organics on one of her colonies are acting up, and all available Ruby and Quartz soldiers are to join the fight.” She gave the tablet back. “Prepare your ship and leave as soon as you can. Pack as many backup supplies as the cargo hold can carry.”

“Yes, Commander Morganite!” the Rubies answered. They all filed out of the room, Pearl included, with Ruby bringing up the rear.

Just as she reached the doorway, Ruby was stopped by Morganite grabbing her shoulder. The other Rubies and Pearl didn’t seem to notice, and continued toward the docking bay. Ruby looked up at her. “Commander Morganite?”

Morganite watched down the hall until the others were out of earshot. She let go of Ruby and looked down at her. “Ruby, you should know that the organics on the planet you’re going to are smart.”

“Like the territorial ones we talked about?”

Morganite shook her head. “More than that. All the reports coming in indicate these are smarter than any organic lifeform we’ve come across. Their technology is incredibly primitive, but...well, they have technology.” She leaned her head into the hallway and made sure no one was around to hear her. Satisfied, she looked back at Ruby. “In terms of intelligence, I think they may rival Gems.”

Ruby recoiled. She waited for Morganite to tell her it was a joke, but she didn’t. Ruby glanced out the doorway herself. “Um...why are you telling this to me? Instead of to the captain?”

Morganite tilted her head. “She’s a little too by the books, don’t you think? What I told you here isn’t exactly something that’s supposed to be known to the lower ranks, even I had to piece it together from independent field reports. Intelligent organics officially don’t exist. If I told all this to your captain, she’d put it in her report, and then we’d all be bubbled for knowing things we aren’t supposed to know.” Morganite grimaced, seeming to want to say more about that, but she said to Ruby, “I know you’re respected by the rest of your squad, even if they give you a hard time. Just try to warn them about the danger I’m sending you out in, without, you know,  _ really _ warning them. This isn’t going to be like the patrol missions you’ve been used to lately. If you and the other soldiers don’t succeed in subduing the organics, the entire colony will have to be purged.”

Ruby nodded, a bit nervously. “Of course, Commander Morganite. We’ll be careful.”

“Good. Now get out there. As fast as you can.”

Ruby joined the others in preparation, and they were soon their way to the front lines.

 

Nothing Morganite had said had been a lie, but nothing she had said could have prepared Ruby and her squad for what they walked into.

They had landed their ship on a flat piece of land next to a dozen other ships and trudged up the hill between their ship and where they knew the conflict was taking place. They stopped at the top and took it all in.

Below them to their left was a barely-started quarry, the beginnings of a kindergarten. To their right was a forest with thick tree cover. On the grassy plain between the quarry and the forest were more than 50 Gem soldiers trying to advance against the barrage of ranged weaponry coming from behind the trees.

After more than ten seconds of silently watching the battle below them, the Ruby who usually sat across from Ruby said, “Well. Let’s get in there.”

The four Rubies and their Pearl slid down the steep, slick grassy hill. As soon as reached more level ground, an arrow flew out of the trees and landed about ten feet short of where they stood. There wasn’t anything to say about it, so they just sprinted into the formation of Gem soldiers and joined the chaos.

Quartz soldiers and fused Rubies were holding up metal walls to protect the front of the Gem line from the rain of arrows and throwing spears. Every few minutes, a band of organics rushed out of the forest and attacked the formation’s flanks with spears and copper swords, until the Gems fought them back and the organics either ran back into the forest or stopped moving. When the Gems got close enough, the organics charged out of the forest and simply lept over the barriers, and the melee was on.

This kind of fight was an entirely new experience for Ruby, and most likely everyone fighting by her side. Other than a few sparring matches with other Gems, she had never fought against a weapon. The most dangerous real fight she had ever been in before this battle was against an organic with claws and teeth and a territory to defend.

These organics didn’t look terribly tough, but their weapons and their ability to use them made up for any lack in their bodies. They walked, or rather ran, on two legs and had two arms and three eyes. Their skin was purple, which made it obvious that their multi-colored clothing was not part of their body but rather something they put on themselves. If Ruby were to take a guess, she would guess that the primary material of their outer clothing was made of the skin of other organics on this planet. Most of the organic warriors were tall with flat chests and thin hips, but there were a few that had shorter statures and were wider at the chest and hips.

Ruby scared a few organics off with her heat throwing, setting a line of grass on fire in front of her. But the grass was too wet to sustain a proper blaze, and she couldn’t set new fires much faster than they burned out. She fused in and out with other Rubies as it was appropriate, one time being part of a fusion with five other Rubies, none of whom she had ever met before joining their gigantic body.

Whenever she could spare the time to do so, Ruby glanced at Pearl running up and down the hill, miraculously managing to not get hit, as she carried supplies to the Gem soldiers. She was bringing supplies to more than just Ruby’s squad, and Ruby could tell that she had started getting supplies from other ships, as well. She was the only Pearl on the battlefield, and she was supplying the entire Gem army.

The battlefield started to thin out as fewer and fewer organics made their way over the barrier. Did that mean the Gems were winning? Ruby had no idea. She didn’t know what their next plan of attack was, or if there was one at all. None of the Gems were fighting in any kind of formation anymore. There didn’t even appear to be anyone in charge. The most difficult battle Ruby had ever seen, and no one’s superiors had sent a commander.

Pearl ran up to Ruby with a small bag held against her chest. “More smoke bombs!” she said. Ruby held out her hands to take them, but Pearl hesitated. “These are the last ones,” she said. “That anyone has.”

Ruby lowered her arms. “OK. Give them to someone on the left flank, then. They need them more.”

Pearl nodded and ran off. Ruby watched her run for a second, then turned to face the front. Just in time to see the throwing spear that sailed through the air and pierced her chest.

Ruby heard Pearl’s voice shriek from off to her left. “ _ RUBY!! _ ”

Ruby calmly turned to her left and watched Pearl sprint toward her. They were less than five feet apart when Ruby’s form disintegrated and she returned to the nothingness of her Gem.


End file.
